Saturday, August 11, 2012

Pigs of Different Colors

And other questions from the county fair...

This entire week, my kids and I have spent at our county 4H fair. We haul our animals down in a livestock trailer and park our camper in our assigned slot and take up housekeeping for the week. We are lucky in that because our county is still very rural, our fair is about 4H, whereas other more urban Maryland counties have fairs whose focus is the midway and demolition derbies. I grew up in 4H. Its an important part of our family and is a significant part of our entire community.

Having said that, as livestock exhibitors, we have animals in barns on the fair grounds that folks walk through looking at the project animals. We call them project animals because that's what they are, 4H projects for the kids who are raising them. My kids raise sheep and pigs. All the 4H families take turns helping in the animal barns and it always amazes me the types of questions we get from folks who walk through our barns.

This week, the most common question we got was "Why are the pigs different colors?" This question came a few times, but always from an adult, not a child. Pigs, like dogs, are different colors based on their breed. There are SO many different breeds of pigs. Here in our barn at the 4H fair, we have quite a few different breeds of pigs being raised by 4H'ers. The purpose of the breed program is for the 4H'ers to raise hogs with the specific characteristics of the breed they choose to raise. Here are just a few examples of what's in our barn. Please note, i took these photos during nap time in the barn so several of the pigs are laying down snoozing in their pens.

BERKSHIRE

Berkshire's have white "points" (leg, face tail). They have a darker meat and some consider it to be a heritage breed. The Berk's we have bred and raised have very good maternal instincts.

DUROC

Duroc pigs are one of my kids favorite breeds to raise. They are "red" in color with drooping ears. To be true to the breed, they cannot have any black spots on their body except for the end of the nose.

CHESTER WHITE﻿

Chester Whites are of course, white. Different from other white hogs, they have floppy ears. Look closely and you will see that this picture is of a boar, a male pig used for breeding. Yes, that's the other question we get alot in the hog barn, especially by kids "What are "those"? A lot of learning about the birds and bees happens when kids learn about livestock!

LANDRACE

Another floppy eared, white pig, Landrace's are what we used to use as the foundation of our farrow (birth) to finish (250#) hog operation. Landrace were a Danish breed imported to the US. They are known for their length of body along with ham and loin size making them a good production breed.

SPOT

Obviously the name fits the "color". My daughter raised a Spot pig for the first time this year, mainly because when it was a piglet, she thought it was "cute". I don't really think so now that its 244 pounds...

HAMPSHIRE

Hampshires are a very popular breed in our 4H hog barn. Hamps must have a white "belt" across the shoulders extending down the front legs.

YORKSHIRE

Yorkshires are also very popular. This is a picture of a sow, a female pig that has had at least one litter of piglets. I had a woman ask why we called them "white" when actually they are pink. True, their skin is pink but their hair is white.

BLUE BUTTS

Blue Butts are cross-bred between Hampshires and Yorkshires. They generally have some dark markings around their hind-quarters, thus the term "blue butt". This type of pig makes up the bulk of our market hogs.

A primer on some pig terms we also got questions on this week at the fair:

Gilt = a female pig that has not delivered a litter of piglets. Can be either used for breeding if it has the qualities to enhance the litter of piglets or for market.

Barrow = a castrated male pig typically sold for market.

Boar = an uncastrated male pig used for breeding. Yes, those are what you can see in the picture of the Chester White boar...

Sow = a mature female pig that has had at least one litter of piglets.

Average litter size? Depends on breed but typically 10 piglets per litter.

What do pigs eat? Pig feed! :Primarily a blend of corn and soybeans. When I was a kid raising pigs we "slopped" our pigs giving them any and all type of food left overs. Nowadays with the desire for lean meat, a pig's diet is prescribed to have the correct weight gain over time and a balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates along with vitamins and minerals. Our pigs still get our leftovers. Their favorite is watermelon rinds and corn husks and corn cobs! They also love a treat of apples that have fallen of the tree in our backyard.

My kids LOVE being at the county fair (quite frankly so do I) and sharing what they do with their 4H animal projects. You really should visit a county fair near you and ask the 4H'ers questions. You may just be surprised at what you learn.